The Daily Audio Bible
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42 So I will calm My wrath toward you and My jealousy [resulting from being denied what is rightfully and uniquely mine] will turn away from you; I will be pacified and no longer angry. 43 Because you have not remembered the days of your youth but have enraged Me with all these things, therefore, I in turn will bring your conduct down on your own head,” says the Lord God, “so that you will not commit this lewdness on top of all your other repulsive acts.
44 “Behold, everyone who uses proverbs will use this proverb against you: ‘Like mother, like daughter.’ 45 You are the daughter of your mother, who loathed her husband and her children. You are the sister of your sisters, who loathed their husbands and their children. Your [spiritual] mother was a Hittite and your [spiritual] father an Amorite. 46 Now your older sister is Samaria, she with her daughters (outlying cities) who live north of you; and your younger sister is Sodom, she with her daughters who live south of you. 47 Yet you have not merely walked in their ways or behaved in accordance with their pagan practices; but, as if that were too little, you [soon] acted more corruptly in all your ways than they.(A) 48 As I live,” says the Lord God, “Sodom, your sister and her daughters have not done as you and your daughters have done. 49 Behold, this was the sin of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters (outlying cities) had arrogance, abundant food, and careless ease, but she did not help the poor and needy. 50 They were haughty and committed repulsive acts before Me; therefore I removed them when I saw it.(B) 51 Furthermore, Samaria did not commit half of your sins, but you have greatly increased your repulsive acts more than they. So you have made your [wicked] sisters [Samaria and Sodom] appear righteous and justified by [comparison to] all the disgusting things which you have done. 52 Also bear your disgrace [as punishment], having made judgment favorable for your sisters, for [you virtually absolved them] because of your sins in which you behaved more repulsively than they; they are more in the right than you. Yes, be ashamed and bear your disgrace, for you made your [pagan] sisters seem righteous.
53 “Nevertheless, I will restore them [again] from their captivity, the captivity of Sodom and her daughters (outlying cities), the captivity of Samaria and her daughters, and along with them [I will restore you from] your own captivity [in the day of the Lord God],(C) 54 so that you [Judah] will bear your humiliation and disgrace, and be [thoroughly] ashamed for all [the wickedness] that you have done to console and comfort them. 55 Your sisters, Sodom and her daughters and Samaria and her daughters will return to their former state; and you and your daughters will return to your former state. 56 For [the name of] your sister Sodom was not mentioned by you [except as a byword] in the day of your pride [when David ruled], 57 before your [own] wickedness was uncovered. Now you have become an object of reproach and a byword for the daughters of Aram and of Edom and all who are around her, and for the daughters of the Philistines—those surrounding you who despise you. 58 You have borne [the penalty of] your lewdness and your repulsive acts,” says the Lord. 59 Yes, thus says the Lord God, “I will also deal with you as you have done, you who have despised the oath by breaking the covenant.
The Covenant Remembered
60 “Nevertheless, I will remember [with compassion] My covenant with you in the days of your youth, and I will establish an everlasting covenant with you.(D) 61 Then you will remember your ways and be ashamed when you receive your sisters, both your older and your younger; I will give them to you as daughters, but not because of your covenant [with Me].(E) 62 And I will establish My covenant with you, and you will know [without any doubt] that I am the Lord,(F) 63 so that you may remember [in detail] and be ashamed and never open your mouth again because of your humiliation, when I have forgiven you for all that you have done,” says the Lord God.
Parable of Two Eagles and a Vine
17 Now the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 2 “Son of man, ask a riddle and tell a [a]parable to the house of Israel, 3 saying, ‘Thus says the Lord God, “A great eagle (Nebuchadnezzar) with great wings, long pinions and a rich plumage of many colors came to Lebanon (Jerusalem) and took away the top of the cedar (Judah). 4 He broke off the topmost of its young twigs (young King Jehoiachin) and carried it to a land of traders (Babylonia); he set it in a city of merchants (Babylon). 5 He also took some of the seed of the land ([b]Zedekiah, of the royal family) and planted it in fertile soil and a fruitful field; he placed it beside abundant waters and set it like a willow tree. 6 Then it sprouted and grew and became a low, spreading vine whose branches turned [in submission] toward him, but its roots remained under it. So it became a vine and yielded shoots and sent out branches.
7 “There was [also] another great [c]eagle with great wings and many feathers; and behold, this vine (Zedekiah) bent its roots toward him and sent out its branches toward him, away from the beds where it was planted, for him to water. 8 It was planted in good soil where water was plentiful for it to produce leaves and branches and to bear fruit, so that it might become a splendid vine.”’ 9 Thus says the Lord God, ‘Ask, “Will it thrive? Will he (Nebuchadnezzar) not uproot it and strip off its fruit so that all its sprouting leaves will wither? It will not take a strong arm or many people to uproot it [ending Israel’s national existence].(G) 10 Though it is planted, will it thrive and grow? Will it not completely wither when the east wind touches it? It will wither in the beds where it grew.”’”(H)
Zedekiah’s Rebellion
11 Moreover, the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 12 “Say now to the rebellious house, ‘Do you not know (realize) what these things mean?’ Tell them, ‘Hear this, the king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and took its king [Jehoiachin] and its princes and brought them with him to Babylon.(I) 13 And he took a member of the royal family [the king’s uncle, Zedekiah] and made a covenant with him, putting him under oath. He also took the important leaders of the land,(J) 14 so that the kingdom would be in subjection, unable to restore itself and rise again, but that by keeping his covenant it might continue. 15 But Zedekiah rebelled against Nebuchadnezzar by sending his ambassadors to Egypt so that they might give him horses and many troops. Will he succeed? Will he who does such things escape? Can he indeed break the covenant [with Babylon] and [still] escape? 16 As I live,’ says the Lord God, ‘surely in the country of the king (Nebuchadnezzar) who made Zedekiah [the vassal] king, whose oath he despised and whose covenant he broke, in Babylon Zedekiah shall die. 17 Pharaoh with his mighty army and great company will not help him in the war, when they (the Babylonians) put up ramps and build siege walls to destroy many lives. 18 Now Zedekiah dishonored the oath by breaking the covenant, and behold, he gave his hand and pledged his allegiance, yet did all these things; he shall not escape.’” 19 Therefore, thus says the Lord God, “As I live, I will bring down on his own head My oath [made on My behalf by Nebuchadnezzar] which Zedekiah dishonored and My covenant which he broke. 20 I will spread My net over him, and he will be caught in My snare; and I will bring him to Babylon and will enter into judgment with him there for his treason which he has committed against Me. 21 All the choice men [from Judah] in all his troops will fall by the sword, and those that survive will be scattered to every wind; and you will know [without any doubt] that I the Lord have spoken.”
22 [d]Thus says the Lord God, “I Myself will take a twig from the lofty top of the cedar and will set it out; I will crop off from the topmost of its young twigs a tender one and I will plant it on a high and lofty mountain.(K) 23 I will plant it on the mountain heights of Israel, that it may grow boughs and bear fruit and be a noble and stately cedar. And birds of every kind will live under it; they will nest [securely] in the shade of its branches. 24 All the trees of the field will know that I the Lord bring down the tall tree, exalt the low tree, dry up the green tree, and make the dry tree flourish. I am the Lord; I have spoken, and I will fulfill it.”
A Better Ministry
8 Now the main point of what we have to say is this: we have such a High Priest, [the Christ] who is seated [in the place of honor] at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty (God) in heaven,(A) 2 a Minister (Officiating Priest) in the holy places and in the true tabernacle, which is erected not by man, but by the Lord. 3 For every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices; so it is essential for this One also to have something to offer. 4 Now if He were [still living] on earth, He would not be a priest at all, for there are priests who offer the gifts [to God] in accordance with the Law. 5 They serve as a pattern and foreshadowing of [what has its true existence and reality in] the heavenly things (sanctuary). For when Moses was about to erect the tabernacle, he was warned by God, saying, “See that you make it all [exactly] according to the pattern which was shown to you on the mountain.”(B) 6 But as it is, Christ has acquired a [priestly] ministry which is more excellent [than the old Levitical priestly ministry], for He is the Mediator (Arbiter) of a better covenant [uniting God and man], which has been enacted and rests on better promises.
A New Covenant
7 For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion for a second one or an attempt to institute another one [the new covenant]. 8 However, God finds fault with them [showing its inadequacy] when He says,
“Behold, the days will come, says the Lord,
When I will make and ratify a new covenant
With the house of Israel and with the house of Judah;
9
Not like the covenant that I made with their fathers
On the day when I took them by the hand
To lead them out of the land of Egypt;
For they did not abide in My covenant,
And so I withdrew My favor and disregarded them, says the Lord.
10
“For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel
After those days, says the Lord:
I will imprint My laws upon their minds [even upon their innermost thoughts and understanding],
And engrave them upon their hearts [effecting their regeneration].
And I will be their God,
And they shall be My people.
11
“And it will not be [necessary] for each one to teach his fellow citizen,
Or each one his brother, saying, ‘Know [by experience, have knowledge of] the Lord,’
For all will know [Me by experience and have knowledge of] Me,
From the least to the greatest of them.
12
“For I will be merciful and gracious toward their wickedness,
And I will remember their sins no more.”(C)
13 When God speaks of “A new covenant,” He makes the first one obsolete. And whatever is becoming obsolete (out of use, annulled) and growing old is ready to disappear.
13
But they quickly forgot His works;
They did not [patiently] wait for His counsel and purpose [to be revealed regarding them],
14
But lusted intensely in the wilderness
And tempted God [with their insistent desires] in the desert.(A)
15
So He gave them their request,
But sent a wasting disease among them.(B)
16
They envied Moses in the camp,
And Aaron [the high priest], the holy one of the Lord,(C)
17
Therefore the earth opened and swallowed Dathan,
And engulfed the company of Abiram.(D)
18
And a fire broke out in their company;
The flame consumed the wicked.(E)
19
They made a calf in Horeb (Sinai)
And worshiped a cast image.(F)
20
Thus they exchanged [the true God who was] their glory
For the image of an ox that eats grass.
21
They forgot God their Savior,
Who had done such great things in Egypt,
22
Wonders in the land of Ham,
Awesome things at the Red Sea.
23
Therefore He said He would destroy them,
[And He would have done so] had not Moses, His chosen one, stepped into the gap before Him,
To turn away His wrath from destroying them.(G)
24
Then they despised the pleasant land [of Canaan];
They did not believe in His word nor rely on it,
25
But they sulked and complained in their tents;
They did not listen to the voice of the Lord.
26
Therefore He lifted up His hand [swearing] to them,
That He would cause them to fall in the wilderness,
27
And that He would cast out their descendants among the nations
And scatter them in the lands [of the earth].
28
They joined themselves also to [the idol] Baal of Peor,
And ate sacrifices offered to the dead.
29
Thus they provoked Him to anger with their practices,
And a plague broke out among them.
30
Then Phinehas [the priest] stood up and [a]interceded,
And so the plague was halted.(H)
31
And that was credited to him for righteousness,
To all generations forever.
7
He who is satisfied loathes honey,
But to the hungry soul any bitter thing is sweet.
8
Like a bird that wanders from her nest [with its comfort and safety],
So is a man who wanders from his home.
9
Oil and perfume make the heart glad;
So does the sweetness of a friend’s counsel that comes from the heart.
Copyright © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, CA 90631. All rights reserved.